Sofinnova Partners closes oversubscribed €82 million MD Start IV fund to build new MedTech startups

Sofinnova Partners, a Paris-based life sciences investor, has closed its Sofinnova MD Start IV fund at €82 million.

The firm said the fund was oversubscribed and will build on a strategy dating back to 2008 that has created around a dozen companies.

“Sofinnova MD Start is one of the few strategies in Europe focused on creating medtech companies from the ground up. What makes the model distinctive is the active role our team plays in building and supporting every company from day one. This latest fund will allow us to scale that approach and remain a key part of Sofinnova’s platform across the life sciences value chain,” said Antoine Papiernik, Chairman and Managing Partner of Sofinnova Partners.

Founded in 1972, Sofinnova Partners is a European venture capital firm specialising in healthcare and sustainability, with offices in Paris, London and Milan. The firm runs a multi-fund platform of seven investment strategies, each led by a dedicated team of specialists.

Its funds are Capital, the flagship early-stage biopharma and MedTech fund; MD Start, its MedTech company creator; Crossover, for growth-stage BioTech and MedTech; Industrial Biotech, for sustainable startups; Telethon, for early-stage Italian science; Digital Medicine, for techbio and HealthTech; and Biovelocita, a BioTech accelerator built with research organisations.

The firm says it has backed more than 500 companies and manages over €4 billion in assets. It invests from Seed to later stages and describes itself as a hands-on company builder across the life sciences value chain.

MD Start focuses on building MedTech companies from scratch instead of backing existing ones. The strategy began with MD Start I, which closed in 2008 at €8.2 million. MD Start II followed in 2015 with €10.3 million, and Sofinnova MD Start III reached €63 million in 2019. The new fund is therefore about 30% larger than its predecessor.

The firm says Fund III invested in six companies, which went on to raise more than €140 million in follow-on financing. The highlight of the MD Start strategy has to be LimFlow, acquired by Inari Medical for up to €392 million ($415 million) and preCARDIA acquired by Abiomed.

Other portfolio highlights include CorWave, which has raised more than €100 million; BrightHeart, which holds FDA and CE Mark clearance and recently closed a €11 million Series A; and Moon Surgical, which has FDA and CE Mark clearance for the Maestro system, used to treat more than 3,700 patients.

Anne Osdoit, Partner at Sofinnova Partners, said, “We are grateful for the continued support of our existing and new limited partners. Their commitment reflects confidence in our active, hands-on approach to company building. With Sofinnova MD Start IV, we look forward to continuing to work closely with engineers, clinicians, and scientists to advance their transformative medical technologies from the lab to the clinic.”

The MD Start close follows the firm’s flagship Sofinnova Capital XI fund, which closed at €650 million, above its original target and a €30 million commitment from the British Business Bank.

With the final close of Fund IV, Sofinnova Partners aims to create six to eight new MedTech companies in Europe and the US over the next five years. The firm says it will provide founders with capital and hands-on support, taking them from inception through key clinical and operational milestones.

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